Homewood

Allen Lane was born in 1965, and grew up on Murtland Street in Homewood, just down the road from Westinghouse High School. Back then, more than 30,000 people lived in the single square mile that comprises Homewood.

Lane recalled a vibrant, prosperous neighborhood in his youth.

"There were businesses in Homewood, so you didn’t have to walk too far from your job," Lane said. "There was employment in Homewood."

On a breezy Wednesday morning, a tour group of gardeners and members of Pittsburgh's nonprofit community visited all the green spaces the neighborhood of Homewood had to offer. They saw the personal gardens of resident Amir Rashad, walked through shared plots and the garden manned by Operation Better Block.

Eric Luster grew up in a three-bedroom 1920s-era home on a quiet dead end street in Homewood. It was a self-described good childhood, but he thought he would have a better future in Atlanta, Ga., so he moved out of town to raise his five children.

To the left of her fridge, Zinna Scott can peer out her kitchen window on Rosewood Avenue in Homewood and see the two open, grassy lots where her neighbors once lived. It’s where she wants to build her dream house.

Motorcycles revved and a crowd marched by the line wrapping around the Homewood Coliseum on Friday where former President Bill Clinton spoke on behalf of his wife and Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton.

Clinton’s visit fell on the same day as the funeral for a beloved pastor from the neighborhood. He offered condolences for the friends and relations of Reverend Eugene “Freedom” Blackwell, who died last month from cancer at the age of 43.

United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania is partnering with a dozen local organizations to focus on the academic and social needs of kids.

Since the five-year United for Children plan was announced in December, the organization has chosen local agencies to receive funding, volunteers and business support to help an estimated 300,000 children.

Homewood business owners talk about their experience and hopes for the neighborhood. Hear from the owners of Jones Printing, The Wheel Mill and The Dream BBQ.

To many Pittsburgh residents, the word “Homewood” typically invokes a negative image. For those living in Homewood, however, the community is vibrant, growing and hopeful. During today’s Essential Pittsburgh, we’ll explore the many different sides of Homewood through conversations with city leaders, community organizers and local businesses.

Pittsburgh has seen an economic turnaround in recent years, but not every neighborhood has been part of the renaissance.

Homewood has seen more population loss than any neighborhood and economic development for decades has been nearly nonexistent. Its reputation has become one of crime and poverty, which plays out regularly on the nightly news, with reports of murders in the 1-square-mile neighborhood on the northeastern corner of the city.

Local YMCAs have long-welcomed teenagers to play basketball and swim laps, but the Homewood-Brushton location will soon incorporate 3-D printers, recording studios and film production into a growing list of youth services.

Residents of Homewood heard the results of Operation Better Block’s resident-driven land use plan last week.

Demi Kolke, the group's community development manager, said watching the redevelopment boom in nearby neighborhoods like East Liberty made them realize that Homewood could be next. And they wanted to ensure that the community remained involved through the process, as it brings changes to the neighborhood.

It’s been nearly two years since a Shop ‘n Save grocery store opened on Centre Avenue in the Hill District. For decades, the neighborhood was considered a food desert, which the federal government defines as an area where residents lack access to healthy, nutritious foods, such as fruits and vegetables and whole grains.

Pittsburgh City Councilman Ricky Burgess is rolling out a few more details on his plan to preserve and expand affordable housing in the city’s East End.

“You have to rebuild schools, make the community safe, rebuild housing and rebuild social service entities all at the same time in the parts of the community on the edge, next to strength,” Burgess said.

Pittsburgh City Councilman Ricky Burgess on Tuesday introduced four pieces of legislation to support affordable housing in the city.

The announcement comes a day after the city of Pittsburgh announced it had reached an agreement for the relocation of Penn Plaza tenants, who faced eviction after the owners of the East Liberty apartment buildings decided to redevelop the site.

PNC announced on Saturday that it will grant $1.5 million to Buzzword Pittsburgh, an organization in Homewood that engages families with young children to develop vocabulary and language practices. Buzzword is one project of the Grow Up Great initiative supported by the Carnegie Science Center, the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy. Sally McCrady, president and chair of the PNC Foundation, describes PNC's investment and Buzzword Pittsburgh.

Describing the efforts of Buzzword Pittsburgh to connect with children, McCrady explains:

"Fun is the key here, and our partners have just done a fabulous job of working together to create really fun activities that the whole family can be engaged in and really focus and take advantage of kids' natural sense of curiosity." -- Sally McCrady

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Also in the program, retired Colonel Stuart Herrington shares stories from Vietnam in a new PBS documentary, Margaret J. Krauss tells the story of South Park and business contributor Rebecca Harris describes the business of medical devices.

It took less than one minute for officers from the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police to arrive on the scene after shots reportedly were fired off the porch of 7502 Hamilton Ave. in Homewood Saturday night.

“(ShotSpotter) was so accurate and so quick that the officers were able to engage the suspects and see them as they were firing the weapons and observe the muzzle flash that was a result of them firing the weapons,” said Major Crimes Cmdr. RaShall Brackney.

In June, an electrical fire forced the closure of the Homewood-Brushton YMCA facility. Initially, YMCA officials had expected to reopen the facility in late summer or early fall, but the whole building had to be cleaned because of smoke damage, and the entire electrical system had to be repaired. Even with the facility closed, many programs were able to continue.

Three Pittsburgh police officers were the target of a civil lawsuit brought by Jordan Miles charging that they falsely arrested the CAPA High School student and used excessive force during the incident.

The jury found for Miles on the charge of false arrest and for the officers on excessive force allegations. They awarded Miles compensatory damages of $101,016.75 and punitive damages of $6,000 from each of the three officers. Miles called the verdict a victory for him.

In the 19th century, wealthy white Pittsburghers, including George Westinghouse and Andrew Carnegie, created estates in Homewood, which was a pastoral and welcome respite from the foul air generated by the industry.

By 1940, the population was diverse, middle class and about five times larger than it is now.

Homewood, once the home of Andrew Carnegie and George Westinghouse, has had more than its share of economic troubles in recent decades.

According to data available from PGHSNAP, Homewood had a population of nearly 31,000 people in 1940. By 2010, that number had decreased 79 percent to 6,442. In 2009, the median income was just under $20,000, and in 2010, 46 percent of residents were living under the poverty level.

In Homewood Friday, a symposium called 29 Tablets was dedicated to the possibility of manufacturing tablet computers in Homewood. It's the first in a series of community-oriented symposiums.

The leaders of this project, Andrew Thornhill, founder of Thornhill & Studio and Elwin Green, of the hyperlocal news site Homewood Nation, say the concept would benefit of entrepreneurs and bring diverse job creation to the struggling neighborhood.